The French pianist Marcelle Meyer (1897-1958) learned piano at age 5 from her older sister and entered the Paris Conservatoire at age 14. Two years later, she was awarded the Premier Prix after studying first with Marguerite Long and then

Gioachino Rossini’s opera “The Barber of Seville” is one of the most fun operas in the entire repertoire. It’s full of humour and romantic encounters, and for a change, nobody dies. The story is set in Sevilla, Spain during the

See here for the history of the prize. 1960s When we look at the awards for the 1960s, we see a distinct turn away from large symphonic works towards quartets and works that include new technology, such as electronic tape.

Following the line from Franz Liszt, through his pupil Emil von Sauer, French pianist Monique de La Bruchollerie (1915-1972) was one of the great pianists of her day, which ended far too quickly. Her family was one of musicians, with

The Pulitzer Prize was first awarded in 1917, following instructions left by newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer in his 1904 will. The Pulitzer Prize in Music was established in 1943 after being converted from an annual scholarship for “the student of

As concert life begins to return to something resembling “normal” after months of silence – the result of government restrictions in response to the coronavirus pandemic – venues, promoters and indeed the performers themselves can do a great deal to

Creativity never ends! Our predecessors contributed a lot of fantastic musical compositions using what have become known as “standard” orchestral instruments. Our contemporary composers continue to build on this tradition. However, “folk” and “classical” music has become more blended in

Little known in the West, Vladimir Krainev (1944 – 2011) was an exceptional yet criminally underrated pianist and pedagogue. Born in Krasnoyarsk, Krainev displayed musical talent at a precocious age and gave his debut performance at 7 with piano concertos